Miami hip-hop used to be exotic and wild, our town known around the world as the land of bass. Today it’s not so unique, closely resembling regional flavors such as Atlanta crunk and New Orleans bounce (though one could convincingly argue that Miami bass influenced both of these sounds). But…
“Britney got married. Ashlee was caught lip-synching. ODB died,” writes Dallas Observer music editor Sarah Hepola in “Trend Spotting,” one of eight essays the New Times has compiled to assess the year in music. Sarah’s statement is deceptively facile. While she picks three superficial, screaming headlines from the previous twelve…
What is Popvert? It’s Jose “Pepvert” Tillan, the Latin music industry player responsible for mentoring Nil Lara and coordinating MTV Latin America’s Unplugged series; Volumen Cero guitarist Marthin Chan; and former Rocking Horse Winner vocalist Jolie Lindholm. Popvert is not a new band, though, but a onetime collaboration between the…
Big Brooklyn Red specializes in freestyling. No, not the kind of freestyling where some rapper matches syllables for hours on end. Red just sings, playing and twisting the chorus from Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” for example, until he’s fueling a freeform jam session all on his own. His style…
Though Art Basel is over, there’s always an in-store party going on somewhere around town. This Saturday brings a launch party for Bedroom Rockers, a limited edition book and CD featuring photographs of the world’s bedroom DJs by Christopher Woodcock. It’s happening all afternoon, so feel free to stop by…
Mighty Mos Def sure has changed. Six years ago, he was the ultimate backpacker, dropping classic hit singles like “Universal Magnetic”; today, he’s acting in movies and making scat rap tracks like “Sex, Love, and Money.” His latest album, The New Danger, has divided fans; some charitably call it a…
As the host of MTV’s entertaining Pimp My Ride, Xzibit’s stock has risen as a celebrity, even as it recedes as a rapper. His latest album, Weapons of Mass Destruction, isn’t generating much of a buzz, probably because many of its tracks are perfunctory, addressing hand-me-down themes like “Ride or…
I admit it. I fucked up. Last year, the inaugural Miami Awards were held at the now-defunct Bar Code in South Beach, and yours truly was the only mainstream journalist to cover it (“Triumph of the Will,” August 28, 2003). It was the calm before the storm: Jacki-O was riding…
If there was a figurehead for Miami’s rock en español scene, it would be Sóniko. Since releasing their crunchy debut Kombustion last year, the enterprising quartet has become a fixture on MTV Latin America with its nimble blend of hook-laden pop-punk and metallic rock. Thanks to a close association with…
Why should any self-respecting hip-hop fan go out on a school/work night? How about a chance to see Slick Rick, Doug E. Fresh, KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, Kool G. Rap, J.T. Money, and MC Lyte, among other scheduled (but by no means guaranteed) guest appearances by rap legends? This…
Roger Sanchez will always hold a place in Miami’s heart for making the first two editions of the Dancestar Awards tolerable with his quick and hilarious punchlines. But he’s also a pretty good DJ, having just won an award for DJ of the Year at the inaugural House Music Awards…
One of the most improbable developments in underground dance music this year has been the continuing relevance of the broken-beat genre. Hastily named to commemorate the lethal dance beats European producers have made by plundering, chopping, and flipping Afro-Cuban polyrhythms, its standard bearers have issued several great singles (Jazzanova’s “renumber”…
Every month, it seems, there is a new reason for people to go out and party themselves into a tizzy. This past week, it was Art Basel, the annual international art exhibition that, naturally, engenders dozens of parties, gallery exhibits, and performances throughout South Beach and downtown Miami. Noticeably absent…
Fridays and Saturdays, Grass Like Franco V during much of the week, Stan Kolev provides soulful house sounds for the moneyed loungers who occupy Grass. But before you dismiss him as a human jukebox for rich people, note that he brings a solid pedigree to his prime weekend slot. As…
For the past few years, two massives have bookended our annual season: Magical Maydaze in May, and Candyland in December. Before the latest edition of Candyland gets underway on December 26, Culture Productions is throwing a preparty at downtown Miami’s Players, a sports bar/nightclub that seems an odd fit for…
Anyone who expects to hear chewy pop-rock on one of Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante’s solo recordings is in for a shock. His music, especially on the recent, self-explanatory The Will to Death, is dark and tortured, powered by a penchant for melodic hooks you can hear jangling…
Benefit compilations are usually a hit-and-miss affair, and Genocide in Sudan is no different. Stylistically, it jumps all over, from the earnest punk rock of Bad Religion to Yoko Ono and Craig Armstrong. There are a few songs that stand out, though. By “playing the race card” and pointing out…
If the hip-hop underground were like the indie-rock scene, then 2Mex would be a huge cult star for his rapid-fire style and witty, punchy songs such as “Escape the Toyota Matrix.” Instead, this talented MC, a longtime participant in the highly underrated Los Angeles rap world, builds his fan base…
Since 2000, Tomas Ceddia and Joe Budious have fought the good fight, bringing quality dance music DJs (most recently Naked Music star Miguel Migs) to a city that often cares more about the taste of its vodka than the music it listens to. It’s been a long, educative process that…
On the surface, Massive Attack’s inaugural soundtrack effort, written for a Jet Li thriller scheduled to be released next April, sounds rather atypical. Orchestral strings swell and heave, only to be undercut by tense excursions into electronic rock. There is even a repeating motif, a melancholy suite that floats through…
If you’re an MTV-watching, Internet-surfing, beef-consuming fan of Eminem, you won’t learn nothing new by listening to his fifth album, Encore. Many of its revelations have already passed through the echo chamber of media-fueled public discourse. Like his last album, the horrendously overwrought The Eminem Show, Encore purveys a surreal…
After opening up for John Digweed at crobar back in August, Bedrock stalwart Desyn Masiello is returning to Miami for a solo showcase of his own. The Londoner will be appearing in support of his new mix CD, OS.O_1, a solid mix that segues from ambient techno-trance to psychedelic progressive…
